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Did you know that we publish useful books and run
friendly conferences — crafted for pros like
yourself? E.g. our upcoming SmashingConf Barcelona,
dedicated to smart front-end techniques and design patterns.

Steve Hickey is a UX strategist and product design educator, cultivating a simple, no-bs approach to building things that matter.
Originally trained in print design, Steve switched to the web during his final year in the visual design program at UMass Dartmouth. Now he works with East Coast Product in Boston, MA where he leads the Product Design team and builds experiences for companies that understand success comes from putting their users first. He's also the former Director of AUX, a user experience apprenticeship program, as well as a writer and conference speaker, and a former podcast co-host.

It’s not exactly a new subject, but lately I’ve had reason to revisit the skill of content modeling in my team’s work. Our experience has reached a point where the limitations of how we practice are starting to become clear. Our most common issue is that people tend to tie themselves and their mental models to a chosen platform and its conventions.

Instead of teaching people how to model content, we end up teaching them how to model content in Drupal, or how to model content in WordPress. But I’d prefer that we approach it from a focus on the best interests of users, regardless of which platform said content will end up in.

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As designing static pages has become untenable, many have started to approach design in a modular way.
In this book, we’ll identify what makes an effective design system that empowers teams to
create great digital products.
Pre-order the book now →

Today, too many websites are still inaccessible. In our new book
Inclusive Design Patterns, we explore how to craft
flexible front-end design patterns and make future-proof and accessible interfaces without extra effort. Hardcover, 312 pages.
Get the book →

Meet the new Sketch Handbook, our brand
new Smashing book that will help you master all the tricky, advanced facets of Sketch. Filled with
practical examples and tutorials in 12 chapters, the book will help you become more proficient in your work.
Get the book.

Trends don’t matter, but techniques do.
With SmashingConf Barcelona, we’ll explore problems,
smart solutions and lessons learned from actual projects.
Taking place on October 17–18 at the Palau de la Música Catalana.
To the tickets →

Home sweet home! On September 11–12th, we're gathering for our 6thSmashingConf Freiburg right next to the legendary Black Forest.
With Umar Hansa, Rachel Andrew, Alla Kholmatova, Chris Wright, and others.
To the tickets →